Category: Spotlight Content

The Rhode Island industrial market in the first half of 2017 was active and demand came from the traditional industrial sector as well as the marijuana cultivation market. At one point there was a healthy amount of space for lease in the 10,000 s/f - 20,000 s/f range. But since the influx of a vast number of cultivators seeking to find a suitable location, much of the space in this size range has now been absorbed, leaving the traditional industrial users without many similar sized space options. A few larger leases were consummated further lowering the amount of available space.  The availability of modern, functional buildings for sale has also triggered a steady absorption leaving a limited supply of these types of buildings. In a 50 million s/f industrial market with a relatively low vacancy rate to begin with, a surge of activity can have a significant impact on the market. 

If you’re a single male, your competitive advantage could be a luxury car, being tall, lean and good looking. Being financially secure helps. If you’re a single woman, it could be as obvious as being funny, approachable, and attentive. Like a single man, being financially secure helps. That said, in today’s highly competitive environment, a restaurant’s competitive advantage is most noticeable with the staff, from upper management to kitchen workers. With food and beverage businesses, of every size and shape on every street corner, in every commercial bldg., and with new restaurants opening every day it seems, why won’t over 50% of them survive longer than 5 years?

A look at vacancy rates and lease rates across the state point to several interesting trends – and the general conclusion that the New Hampshire commercial real estate market has tightened up and slightly heated up. Colliers International | New Hampshire internally tracks 61.6± million  s/f of industrial space and 17.3± million s/f of office space in buildings larger than 10,000 s/f across six New Hampshire submarkets.

As of mid-year 2017, our recovery from the Great Recession will be eight years old. Although, to many across the various industries, it doesn’t feel as strong of a recovery as it has been. To us, though, in the commercial real estate business it is hard to relate to a recent year end article in Fortune magazine that stated “If the economy is continuing to recover, most Americans have missed the memo.”

In order to run a golf course, the operator must utilize personal property in conjunction with the real estate. Personal property would include clubhouse furnishings, like tables, chairs, flatware, computers, kitchen equipment, along with golf carts and grounds maintenance equipment. When valuing a going concern the manner in which an appraiser handles personal property is critical to the analysis and conclusions being reported; this is especially true with golf courses. Under federal banking regulations, it is incumbent on the appraiser to allocate the value between the going concern, it’s real estate and nonrealty (both tangible and intangible) therefore a thorough understand of this topic is paramount. 

Last September, a Springfield, Mass. man was arrested in a big drug bust -- police reportedly seized 117 pounds of marijuana from his home-grow apartment operation. Two months later, in November 2016

“Your building is on fire!” Terrible words to hear late at night – or anytime, for that matter. Without warning, a portion of your invested capital can disappear in a matter of minutes.

As of mid-year 2017, our recovery from the Great Recession will be eight years old. Although, to many across the various industries, it doesn’t feel as strong of a recovery as it has been.

On November 16, 2016, HUD published the long-awaited “Final Rules” concerning the implementation of the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA).  While VAWA was originally enacted by Congress in 1994